Page 12 of Meet Me at the Altar

After I spoke to several parents, the coaches, and some of the players, I slowly made my way to the bleachers, where Kalliope sat in stunned silence. Her sister, Khatya, sat beside her, chatting a mile a minute.

I took the opportunity to drink in Kalliope’s stunning appearance after all these years. Despite wearing jeans, a baseball jersey, and a ball cap with her long, red ponytail pulled through the back, she was still beautiful, runway ready.

Her once dark-brown hair was now dyed a cherry-red, and her slim curves had thickened over the years. With her mouthwatering curvy hips, thighs, and ass, she was slim-thick,and her jeans fit her perfectly, as if those hips and ass had to be poured into the denim.

She lifted one perfectly, thick arched eyebrow as she noticed me taking her in. Those full, round lips turned down in disapproval, and her honey-colored, almond-shaped eyes, shining brightly in the sun, reflected pain and disbelief from within.

A golden hue shone from underneath her warm caramel skin, and I knew it was because she had spent a lot of time in the sun, as she was apt to do in the spring and summer. The golden hue did nothing to cover the pretty brown freckles that I loved, which dotted her Nubian nose and high cheekbones.

From the opened buttons of her baseball jersey, I could make out a couple of tattoos, the Libra scales of justice and a dragon tattoo right under her collarbone. When she realized what I was staring at, she quickly lowered her gaze, and her long eyelashes shut out anything that I could have read in it.

“Andrès, you’re looking good and much different than you were when I last saw you over a decade ago,” Khatya mentioned.

“You’re looking pretty good yourself, Khat. Don’t look like you got a kid in high school about to graduate at all.”

“Thank you. That’s what Pilates three days a week and yoga two days a week will get you,” Khatya declared and smiled brightly. “Uhm, I need to catch up with Devon and DJ. It was good seeing you again, Andrès. Don’t be a stranger.”

“If all goes according to plan, I won’t be,” I replied to Khatya while staring at Kalliope. “Hello, sunshine.” I opened my palm to show her the heart that I took from her necklace all those years ago.

Tears shone in her eyes in the early evening sun. “You still have it,” she whispered in awe.

“I do, but I’m hoping that I can have the real thing.”

“Drè, I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe you’re finally here. You have no idea how many times I dreamt of this moment. There were so many times I wished you were here, but . . . I realized how foolish I was to expect you to return for me.”

“I told you I’d be back in ten years to claim you. Are you married, Kalli?” I asked, lifting her left hand. I knew the answer to that question, but I needed to hear it from her mouth.

She pulled it back and looked at me with sad eyes. “Really, Drè? Is that all you have for me? You’ve been gone for ten years.”

“I mean, . . . damn. I have a lot more for you, Kalli. I just gave a whole speech out there on the field. A nigga was sweating bullets and shit, making a fool of himself on that baseball field under the hot sun with hundreds of people staring at me. What else can I say? Has life been treating you good?”

“Actually, it has. I’m not sure that I can say the same thing for you.”

“Damn. A nigga looks that bad?” I glanced down at my black Dsquared2 distressed jeans, my black silk tee, and my black Nami sneakers. I sported a double rope around my neck, a Philippe Patek on my arm, and my silver hoops in my ears. I had just had a fresh lineup, and my dreads were pulled up on top of my head.

“First, language, please,” Kalliope stated, holding her hand up to stop me as she looked around at the teens and kids running around. Damn, her voice sounded good after all these years, and I wondered how I had gone for so long without hearing it daily.

“My bad,” I replied, smirking at her and licking my lips because I damn sure wanted to taste hers.

“Second, I’m not talking about that. I’m saying that I don’t know how life has been treating you. Had it not been for random updates from your sister, Kalandra, I would have no idea if you were dead or alive.”

“Yeah, my bad.”

“No, it’s more than your bad. It’s?—”

“Tee K, we’re about to head to the pizza place. Mama wanted to know if you’d be meeting us there?” her nephew, DJ, asked, running up to her with sweat pouring down his face.

“Manners, DJ.”

“Wassup, my guy. That’s dope, what you’re doing for the school and our teams and all. Did you really mean that? Proposing to my auntie?” DJ asked.

“Thank you, and yes, I meant every word I said. You don’t remember me because you were just a jit when I left, but I’m a man of my word.”

“That’s wassup. So, what happened to?—”

“Uhm, that’s enough. Tell your mom I’ll be there soon.”

“Dang, Tee K. It’s like that?” her nephew asked, pressing his fist against his mouth in a teasing manner. He looked just like his mother.